MONTEBELLO, CA – MARCH 2009: Cesar Millan — star of the Emmy-nominated National Geographic Channel hit series Dog Whisperer and best-selling author — took the oath today to officially become a U.S. citizen. Cesar, who passed his citizenship test earlier this year, attended the swearing inceremony this morning with dozens of others in Montebello, Calif., just north of Los Angeles. Cesar was joined by his wife Ilusion and two sons, Andre and Calvin, who attended to cheer him on (they are already U.S. citizens).
Mr. Millan is a native of Mexico, and is becoming a citizen at the age of 40, after entering the United States illegally nearly 20 years ago. He became a legal resident in 2000, and now has earned his citizenship.
A wag of the doggies tail to him on his accomplishment!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
I use the method successfully on my dog and the dogs I foster for my local shelter. The transformation is fast and effective if followed correctly. My dogs are happy and well behaved. The dogs I’ve worked with for the shelter were unadoptable because of their behavior and would be euthanized or left behind bars until it was too late for them. The disclaimer, plain as day, before the show starts and when it comes back from commercials is don’t try this without a professional. If you don’t like it don’t do it and turn the channel when The Dog Whisperer comes on.It’s a free country and Cesar is a citizen (congratulations!)
All of these dog trainers and other “experts” banding against cesar need to take a chill pill. Think result! If they think positive reinforcement training method is the most effective solution to the hardwired fear aggression issue, why can’t they do what Cesar did in literally less than a couple of hours? (refer to demon chihuahua or just any of the episodes). Food/bribe based methodology? takes too long to phase off and very ineffective against aggression problems.
Just like human, there are the “softies/compliant” dogs who can be treated effectively just using positive training, then there are “tough/independent/stubborn” dogs who need to be dealt with strict disciplinary method (think military style) to be productive. Watch “The nanny” and you will see how order is quickly established on unruly kids once they know there are “BAD” consequence to “BAD” behavior.
Dog IS NOT HUMAN, don’t abuse them, but treat them with enough respect as DOGS.
Dogs aren’t people. They’re dogs. You can’t teach a dog like you teach a child. Cesar’s methods work so that you can teach things to a dog in dog terms instead of human terms which are harder for dogs to understand. And there is a disclaimer saying not to attempt his techniques without consulting a professional so if the professional thinks it will inspire fear and further aggression in your dog, don’t use it. I use it (per the vet) on my dog to get her out of an aggressive or dominant state and it works very well. She has severe food aggression (even over the dishwasher) and his nipping works very well. When she becomes dominant-aggressive I nip her with my hand like he does and she immediately stops and sits and after a moment I let her go and she’s out of it. His “calm, assertive energy” is very true when confronting a situation that may be new or stressful. My dog used to be dog aggressive so every time I saw a dog I paniced with her but when I stopped panicing and used his energy philosophy and nipping technique to counter her aggressive outbursts her aggression stopped. We are still working on dominance but it is much, much better than I’d ever dreamed it could have been.
His pack has no fear of him, I’d also like to point out. He is not cruel. He is still affectionate but they respect him and are all much happier dogs knowing who the leader is.
I think people are trying to be too sensitive towards everything. We are making our kids think life is a fairy tail and they don’t know how to cope. We are thinking we are cruel when we treat our dogs like dogs instead of people. It’s rediculous. I don’t think Cesar’s techniques work in all situations, however I think they do have relevance and are not mean. You cannot avoid all situations and the best way to acclimate your dog to that situation is exposure. He does do positive reinforcement when it is appropriate, however first there has to be negative reinforcement to make the dog see that the behavior is wrong.
Anyone who attempts the techniques without knowing first from a dog behavior expert that they are a good idea in that circumstance is irresponsible and is running a huge risk. For example, my vet told me that since my dog would have nothing to do with dogs (no idea what happened, she was such a good puppy) we obviously couldn’t positively reinforce her and to try “whispering” with her even though positive reinforcement works in every other area so we use a combination and she’s a wonderful dog with both people and dogs now, too!
Ok, so there you have it.
Most people who really wish to have a relationship with their dogs instead of just having a dog that minds, and minds only because they are afraid what any other option may bring to them, seek out the more effective methods of respect through trust instead of that of fear.
In a lot of cases, people obtain a dog, through whatever means and then just expect it to know what is expected of it. Ultimately the dog suffers emensely by pure neglect, or at worst, being abandoned or put down.
I simply cannot understand the logic of a person that brings such a wonderful being into their lives, only to throw it into the back yard, or worse yet, tie it to a tree, never to even learn what all that being has to offer.
Unfortunantly, there is and probably always will be, at least a few, of the control freaks, that feel they have to dominate every move of their dog and in doing so, fail to actually teach the dog anything other than to, first, be fearful, and then, eventually learn to strike back out of fear.
People who think using training based on rewards for what is done correctly, instead of punishment for doing something wrong for being incorrect, spoils the dog, or causes the dog to expect a ‘treat’ everytime he/she does something correct, have not taken the time to really learn the theory and how it works. Rewards do not have to be food based all the time, and once a behavior is established, just a ‘good boy or girl” works fine. Some dogs work better with simple praise than with food, others like toys, maybe a walk, all kinds of things can be used as rewards, and the best thing is that there does not ever have to be any confrontation. It makes training much more fun, and not such a chore. Most people who learn about it, really enjoy it and use it far beyond any basic training. Shaping and chaining, luring, capturing are all types of positive reinforcement training methods. All of the wonderful things you see dogs perform on tv or at the movies are all trained using positive reinforcement.
All of the Whales and Dolphins that you see performing, positive reinforcement. How would Cesar Millan go about training a killer whale, or an elephant, using the methods he uses? He couldn’t.
He would not be able to bully them like he does the dogs on his show.
It takes creativity and brain excercise to come up with positive solutions . It does not take anything more than being able to man handle an animal to do what Millan does. The methods reek of laziness and lack of patience.
A really good trainer, after becoming familiar, would be able to use positive reinforcement methods on any animal put in front of them. I have trained a guppy to jump over a toothpick. I suppose I could have netted him from the tank, picked him up and tossed it over the toothpick by hand, but personally I rather enjoy the entire process of letting the animal make the decision on their own and usually, given the choices, a dog who is trained to be a “thinking” dog, and not a fearfull one, will make the decision that works best for both of us.
Millan is not really putting any positive trainers out of bussiness.
He is putting people and their dogs at risk and that is the issue.
well, I hate to ruin the party but here is some information that is soon to be released that might rock quite a few people’s boat, including Mr. Millan.
These matters have long been a concern to those of the dog training community, using the much more effective and less harmful positive ways than what Millan calls “whispering.’ His methods are abusive and dangerous and now top experts on behavior including DVMs are openly speaking out concerning this matter. TV is not reality. He may be charismatic, he may have a few correct philosophys, at least where excercise is essential for a dog, but his treatment of dogs endangers the dogs, the owners, the viewers and anyone that any of these may come in contact with.
I got the article from a private sorce who says they are planing on going live with it.
But for now, please enjoy, and remember, millan has no degrees of any kind, he is not a professional, he is a television star.
> VETERINARIANS CONCERNED ABOUT OUTDATED AND CONFRONTATIONAL ADVICE GIVEN BY
> CESAR MILLAN THE DOG WHISPERER
>
>
> IN AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY TIMOTHY KIM FOR THE VIN NEWS SERVICES (5FEB09), AN
> ON-LINE RESOURCE FOR VETERINARIANS, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AMERICAN
> VETERINARY SOCIETY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (AVSAB) HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT
> DOG TRAINING ADVICE GIVEN BY CESAR MILLAN, ON HIS REALITY TV SHOW, THE DOG
> WHISPERER. THE AVSAB IS SO CONCERNED THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED AN OFFICIAL
> STATEMENT (POSITION STATEMENT ON THE USE OF DOMINANCE THEORY IN BEHAVIOR
> MODIFICATION OF ANIMALS – _HTTP://TINY.CC/BOLIX_ (http://TINY.CC/BOLIX) ) TO
> COUNTER THE UNFORTUNATE
> PERVASIVE INFLUENCE OF MILLAN’S SHOW.
>
> IN THEIR POSITION STATEMENT THE AVSAB DEMONSTRATES THAT THE DOMINANCE THEORY
> WHICH IS THE CORE OF MILLAN’S APPROACH, HAS BEEN REJECTED BY ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
> EXPERTS AND CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE SERIOUS FEAR AGGRESSION IN DOGS. IN THE
> ARTICLE, DR. LAURIE BERGMAN, OF NORRISTOWN, PA., A MEMBER OF AVSAB’S
> EXECUTIVE BOARD WAS QUOTED AS SAYING “WE HAD BEEN MOVING AWAY FROM DOMINANCE
> THEORY AND PUNITIVE TRAINING TECHNIQUES FOR A WHILE, BUT, UNFORTUNATELY,
> CESAR MILLAN HAS BROUGHT IT BACK.”
>
> DOMINANCE THEORY HAS TYPICALLY BEEN PRESENTED AS THE REASON FOR A DOG’S
> MISBEHAVIOR. ITS BASIC PREMISE IS THAT THE DOG IS A PACK ANIMAL LIKE A WOLF
> AND ALL PACKS ARE RULED BY THE DOMINANT ALPHA MALE. MILLAN ESSENTIALLY
> BELIEVES THAT IN ORDER TO COUNTER A DOG’S MISBEHAVIOR, OR AS HE SEES IT A
> “GRAB FOR POWER,” A PERSON MUST BE THE DOMINANT ALPHA MALE AND MUST USE
> FORCE AND COERCION TO GET THE DOG TO BEHAVE AND SUBMIT.
>
> THE ARTICLE DESCRIBES MILLAN AS USING A NUMBER OF ASSERTIVE TECHNIQUES
> “.NEGATIVE-REINFORCEMENT, OR CORRECTION. ALPHA ROLLS (THE DOG IS ROLLED ONTO
> ITS BACK, A SUBMISSIVE POSITION) AND FLOODING (THE DOG IS EXPOSED TO
> SOMETHING THAT CAUSES IT ANXIETY AND IS NOT ALLOWED TO ESCAPE, TO
> DESENSITIZE IT). HE ALSO HAS BEEN SHOWN CHOKING A DOG ON THE END OF A LEASH
> UNTIL IT FELL ONTO ITS SIDE, GASPING FOR AIR.” THESE TECHNIQUES ARE OF GREAT
> CONCERN TO THE AVSAB WHICH HAS ALSO ADOPTED A POSITION STATEMENT ON THE USE
> OF PUNISHMENT FOR TRAINING ANIMALS (_HTTP://TINY.CC/P5JYG_
> (http://TINY.CC/P5JYG) ).
>
> THE THEORY OF DOMINANCE HIERARCHY WAS SET INTO MOTION IN 1922 BY THORLEIF
> SCHJELDERUP-EBBE AND HIS RESEARCH ON CHICKENS. IT WAS POPULARIZED BY THE
> MONKS OF NEW SKETE WITH THEIR PUBLICATION OF HOW TO BE YOUR DOG’S BEST
> FRIEND. THIS NOW VERY DATED BOOK, TAKES THE PREMISE THAT IF WE WANT THE BEST
> RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR DOG THEN WE SHOULD TREAT THEM LIKE AN ADULT WOLF WOULD
> TREAT A WOLF PUPPY, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO THE MONK’S UNDERSTANDING OF THAT
> SCENARIO. MANY OF THEIR KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOCUS ON FEAR AND PHYSICAL
> PUNISHMENT.
>
> THANKS TO THE WORK OF DR. L. DAVID MECH, A SENIOR SCIENTIST WITH THE U.S.
> GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, WE NOW KNOW THAT DOMINANCE THEORY DOES NOT APPLY TO
> WOLVES IN A NATURAL, WILD (NON-CAPTIVE) ENVIRONMENT (ALPHA STATUS,
> DOMINANCE, AND DIVISION OF LABOR IN WOLF PACKS) (_HTTP://TINY.CC/YCQEU_
> (http://TINY.CC/YCQEU) ).
> RESEARCH BY DR. RAY AND LORNA COPPINGER (DOGS: A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF CANINE
> ORIGIN, BEHAVIOR, AND EVOLUTION (SCRIBNER, NY, 2001; UNIV. CHICAGO PRESS,
> 2002) HAS HELPED US UNDERSTAND THAT WHILE CLOSELY RELATED TO THE WOLF A DOG
> IS NOT A HUNTER OR A PACK ANIMAL. DOGS ARE PRIMARILY SCAVENGERS AND WHEN
> LIVING FERAL OFTEN LIVE ALONE OR IN VERY LOOSE GROUPS.
>
> SO WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? IT MEANS THAT THE DOMINANCE THEORY SPOUTED
> FOR YEARS BY MANY IN THE DOG COMMUNITY IS A POOR MODEL FOR DESCRIBING WOLF
> BEHAVIOR AND IS AN EVEN WORSE MODEL FOR TRAINING YOUR DOG. UNFORTUNATELY,
> JUST LIKE THERE IS STILL A FLAT EARTH SOCIETY THERE ARE STILL THOSE LIKE
> CESAR MILLAN, WHO HANG ON TO A DOG TRAINING MODEL THAT IS ERRONEOUS AND
> BASED ON CREATING CONFRONTATION AND FEAR.
>
> THE AVSAB IS NOT THE FIRST TO QUESTION MILLAN’S TECHNIQUES. ON FEBRUARY 23,
> 2006 THE NEW YORK TIMES QUOTED DR. NICHOLAS DODMAN [VETERINARY BEHAVIORIST
> AND DIRECTOR OF THE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR CLINIC AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY] AS SAYING
> ”MY COLLEGE THINKS IT [THE DOG WHISPERER – CESAR MILLAN] IS A TRAVESTY.
> WE’VE WRITTEN TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL AND TOLD THEM THEY HAVE PUT DOG
> TRAINING BACK 20 YEARS.” LATER THAT SAME YEAR THE AMERICAN HUMANE
> ASSOCIATION STATED “THE TRAINING TACTICS FEATURED ON CESAR MILLAN’S “THE DOG
> WHISPERER” PROGRAM ARE INHUMANE, OUTDATED AND IMPROPER”
>
> KIM’S ARTICLE CONCLUDES WITH A STATEMENT BY DR. SOPHIA YIN, A MEMBER OF THE
> AVSAB EXECUTIVE BOARD, WARNING DOG GUARDIANS TO AVOID DOG TRAINERS AND
> OTHERS WHO: CONTINUALLY TELL OWNERS THAT THEY HAVE TO BE THE “ALPHA,” WARN
> OWNERS NOT TO USE REWARDS TOO MUCH, AND USES PINCH COLLARS OR SHOCK COLLARS
> ON DOGS IN A TRAINING CLASS. “THE AVSAB RECOMMENDS THAT VETERINARIANS NOT
> REFER CLIENTS TO TRAINERS OR BEHAVIOR CONSULTANTS WHO COACH AND ADVOCATE
> DOMINANCE HIERARCHY THEORY AND THE SUBSEQUENT CONFRONTATIONAL TRAINING THAT
> FOLLOWS FROM IT.”
Dave – Thanks for giving us something to think about. Look for a blog post next week on this topic.
Washington state senate has passed BILL SSB 5651 that will affect all dog breeders in a very negative, restrictive, costly, unfair and discriminatory way. Horse, cat, rabbit and other pet brteeders are not included. It will be outrageously expensive for the state to enforce and nearly impossible to enforce. It exempts animal rescue facilities, pet stores and bording kennels. It will be expensive for breeders with ten or more dogs and make it illegal to have more than fifty dogs in your care. Access the bill at http://www.leg.wa.gov and read about what’s it’s going to cost you if you are a breeder or own more than ten dogs. Contact Wash. State representatives quickly to stop its final passage or doom is unavoidable. They are also trying to make it federal law.